Guiding Principles

These Guiding Principles were developed by the faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine to provide the framework for the development and maintenance of the undergraduate medical education curriculum.

• Both horizontal and vertical integration of scientific and clinical knowledge will be reflected throughout all four years of the curriculum.
• Interdisciplinary faculty teams will develop and implement the curriculum with student input.
• Curricular content will be delivered within a clinical context at all levels of medical education.
• University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine students will play an active role in their own and their peers’ educational process.
• University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine students will have hands-on clinical experience throughout all four years of their undergraduate medical education.
• The curriculum will provide three specifically designed transition courses for the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine students to ensure competence and readiness for the next stage of their professional education:
  1. Transition to medical education at the beginning of the first year;
  2. Transition to clerkships at the beginning of the third year;
  3. Transition to graduate medical education at the end of the fourth year.
• Students will be provided with an understanding of the health needs of Nevadans, including underserved populations, and with the skills to improve the health of their patients and their communities.
• Curricular and co-curricular activities will encourage student learning that promotes compassionate, patient centered care and student wellness.
• Formative and summative evaluation of the performance of our learners and teachers will be provided from multiple sources in a timely fashion.
• We will delineate and track curricular themes such as social and behavioral health and principles of research as applied to medicine.
• Best practices in medical education, supported by the literature, our own experiences and those of our colleagues, will be reflected in the curriculum.
• Problem solving and critical thinking in the practice of evidence-based medicine will be emphasized to encourage our students to become lifelong learners.
• The curriculum will include interprofessional education activities.
• The curriculum will encourage students to become medical scholars by providing them with the tools to evaluate and contribute to the medical literature.
• The oversight and management of the curriculum will provide a systematic process that promotes open discourse and ensures continuous quality improvement of the M.D. degree program and associated degree programs.